Defect inspection device

ABSTRACT

An inspecting method comprises the following steps. A plurality of defect inspection devices is formed on a wafer. Each defect inspection device comprises an insulating layer and a conductive layer stacked over the insulating layer. A defect inspection parameter is set and the wafer is scanned with an electron beam to obtain a plurality of defect signals. The number of defect signals is checked to determine if it is equal to the number of defect inspection devices. If the number of defect signals is smaller than the number of defect inspection devices, the defect inspection parameter is readjusted and the aforementioned step of performing an electron beam scanning and checking for equality between the number of defect signals and the number of defect inspection devices are repeated. The process is complete when the number of defect signals is at least equal to the number of defect inspection devices.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional of an application Ser. No. 10/907,678,filed Apr. 12, 2005, now pending. The entirety of the above-mentionedapplication is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a partof this specification.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a defect inspection device and aninspecting method thereof. More particularly, the present inventionrelates to a defect inspection device and an inspecting method thereofwith using an electron beam.

2. Description of the Related Art

With the continuous research in the technique of fabricating ultra largescale integrated circuits, the level of integration of integratedcircuits on a wafer increases many folds. As circuits and devices areminiaturized, very small manufacturing defects have become a significantfactor affecting overall quality of the product. In the past decade,defect inspection for detecting manufacturing defects has become a partof the standard manufacturing procedure. Typically, defect inspection isa statistical sampling procedure that applies to defect prone or defectsensitive manufacturing steps.

The conventional method of detecting defects on a wafer is basically atrial and error method. First, a defect inspection parameter is set anda wafer scanning is carried out. According to the defect signal, theoperator singles out and opens up the defective device to perform aninspection to confirm if the device is really a defective device. If thedevice is really defective, the defect inspection parameter can be usedto inspect the same batch of wafers. If the device is found not to bedefective, the defect inspection parameter is reset and anotherinspection is performed until a device returning a defect signal isactually defective. Although the aforementioned trial and error methodof finding the inspection parameter is effective, the procedure is longand tedious.

In another inspection method disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,451,185 B1, anoptical inspection device is used to detect purposely laid defectiveelements on a wafer so that a suitable defect inspection parameter isobtained. The parameter is then applied to perform a subsequentinspection. However, the defective elements purposely laid on the waferare subjected to certain character restrictions imposed by defectdetection with an optical inspection device. For example, the defectiveelement must have a reflective upper surface so that the type ofmaterial that can be used for forming the defective element is limited.Furthermore, the need to fabricate these defective elements increasesthe complexity of fabricating the original wafer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, at least one objective of the present invention is toprovide an inspection method for defect inspection device capable ofshortening the defect inspection cycle.

At least a second objective of the present invention is to provide amethod of manufacturing a defect inspection device such that thefabrication of the defect inspection device merges within the normalfabricating steps and hence simplifies the fabrication of the defectinspection device considerably.

At least a third objective of the present invention is to provideanother method of manufacturing a defect inspection device such that thefabrication of the defect inspection device merges within the normalfabricating steps and hence simplifies the fabrication of the defectinspection device considerably.

At least a fourth objective of the present invention is to provide adefect inspection device structure that facilitates a speedy andaccurate inspection of the defect device.

At least a fifth objective of the present invention is to provideanother defect inspection device structure that facilitates a speedy andaccurate inspection of the defect device.

To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purposeof the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, theinvention provides an inspection method for defect inspection devicecomprising the following steps. First, a plurality of defect inspectiondevices is formed on a wafer. Each defect inspection device comprises aninsulating layer and a conductive layer stacked over the insulatinglayer. A defect inspection parameter is set and then the wafer isscanned with an electron beam to obtain a plurality of defect signals.The number of defect signals is checked to determine if it is equal tothe number of defect inspection devices. If the number of defect signalsis smaller than the number of defect inspection devices, the defectinspection parameter is readjusted and the aforementioned step ofperforming an electron beam scanning and checking for equality betweenthe number of defect signals and the number of defect inspection devicesare repeated. The process is complete when the number of defect signalsis at least equal to the number of defect inspection devices.

The present invention also provides a method of fabricating defectinspection devices. First, a plurality of conductive structures isformed on a wafer. Next, a spacer material layer is formed over thewafer to cover the conductive structures. Thereafter, a portion of thespacer material layer is removed to form spacers on the sidewalls of theconductive structures and retaining the spacer material layer betweenthe sidewall spacers of two adjacent conductive structures. After that,an insulating layer is formed over the wafer to cover the conductivestructures. The insulating layer has a plurality of defect contactopenings that expose the spacer material layer. Finally, conductivematerial is deposited into various defect contact openings.

The present invention also provides a second method of fabricatingdefect inspection devices. First, a wafer having a plurality of scribelines defining out a plurality of chips is provided. Next, a firstinsulating layer and a conductive layer are sequentially formed over thewafer. Thereafter, the first insulating layer and the conductive layerare patterned to form a plurality of conductive stack structures on thechip regions and a plurality of defect stack structures for detectingdefects on the scribe lines. After that, a second insulating layer isformed over the wafer to cover the conductive stack structures and thedefect stack structures. Furthermore, the second insulating layer has atleast a plurality of defect contact openings that expose the defectstack structures. Finally, conductive material is deposited into thedefect contact openings.

The present invention also provides a defect inspection devicestructure. The defect inspection device comprises a substrate, aplurality of defect contacts, a plurality of spacers and an insulatinglayer. The substrate comprises a plurality of conductive structures.Each defect contact is disposed between a pair of neighboring conductivestructures. The spacers are disposed between the defect contacts andvarious conductive structures. The insulating layer is disposed betweenthe defect contacts and the substrate.

The present invention also provides a second defect inspection devicestructure. The defect inspection device comprises a first insulatinglayer, a conductive layer, a second insulating layer and a plurality ofdefect contacts. The first insulating layer is disposed on the scribelines of a wafer and the conductive layer is disposed over the firstinsulating layer. The second insulating layer covers the conductivelayer and the substrate. The defect contacts are disposed in the secondinsulating layer above the conductive layer.

In the inspection method of the present invention, a plurality ofpurposely fabricated defect inspection devices on a wafer is scannedwith an electron beam to determine the defect inspection parameternecessary for inspecting the defects on a wafer. Therefore, theinspection method of the present invention is simpler and faster thanthe conventional one so that time and cost spent on defect detection canbe reduced. In addition, the defect inspection devices can be fabricatedusing a conventional method. In other words, the same processing stepscan be used to form the defect inspection devices as well as ordinarydevices so that both can be carried out concurrently to save processingsteps.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary, and are intended toprovide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of theinvention and, together with the description, serve to explain theprinciples of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing the steps for inspecting the defectinspection device on a wafer according to one preferred embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a defect inspection devicestructure according to one preferred embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIGS. 3A through 3D are schematic cross-sectional views showing thesteps for fabricating a defect inspection device according to onepreferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a defect inspection devicestructure according to another preferred embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 5 is a top view of a wafer according to one embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIGS. 6A through 6C are schematic cross-sectional views showing thesteps for fabricating a defect inspection device according to anotherpreferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a top view showing a plurality of devices within the chipregions according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a top view showing a plurality of devices within the scribeline regions according to the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferredembodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers areused in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or likeparts.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing the steps for inspecting the defectinspection device on a wafer according to one preferred embodiment ofthe present invention. The inspection method of the present inventioncomprises forming a plurality of defect inspection devices on a wafer(instep 100). Each defect inspection device comprises an insulating layerand a conductive layer stacked on the insulating layer.

In one preferred embodiment, the defect inspection device has astructure as shown in FIG. 2. The defect inspection device is disposedon a chip region within the wafer (520 as shown in FIG. 5). The defectinspection device comprises a substrate 200, a defect contact 206,spacers 204 and an insulating layer 204 a. In fact, the substrate 200 isthe wafer. Furthermore, the substrate 200 has a plurality of conductivestructures 202 thereon. The defect contact 206 is disposed between apair of neighboring conductive structures 202. The defect contact 206 isfabricated using a conductive material, for example. In addition, thespacers 204 are disposed between the defect contact 206 and theconductive structures 202. The insulating layer 204 a is disposedbetween the defect contact 206 and the substrate 200. In one preferredembodiment, the spacers 204 and the insulating layer 204 a arefabricated using the same material. In another preferred embodiment, thedefect inspection device structure further comprise an insulating layer208 that covers the substrate 200 and the conductive structures 202 andencloses the defect contact 206.

The defect inspection device shown in FIG. 2 is fabricated in the sameprocessing steps necessary for forming contacts for linking withordinary devices as shown in FIGS. 3A through 3D. First, as shown inFIG. 3A, a plurality of conductive structures 302 is formed on a wafer300. The conductive structure 302 can be a metal-oxide-semiconductor(MOS) device, for example. Thereafter, a spacer material layer 304 isformed over the wafer 300 to cover the conductive structures 302. Thespacer material layer 304 is a silicon nitride layer formed, forexample, by performing a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process.

As shown in FIG. 3B, a portion of the spacer material layer 304 isremoved to form spacers 306 on the sidewalls of the conductivestructure2 302 and retaining a spacer material layer 304 a between apair of neighboring conductive structures 302. The areas where thespacer material layer 304 a is retained are the locations for formingdefect contacts in a subsequent operation and the areas where the spacermaterial layer 304 a is removed are the locations for forming contacts.

The method of removing a portion of the spacer material 304, forexample, comprises the following steps. First, a photoresist layer (notshown) is spin-coated over the spacer material layer 304. Aphotolithographic process is carried out to form a patterned photoresistlayer over the region between a pair of neighboring conductivestructures 302 designed to form the defect contacts. Thereafter, anetching step is carried out to remove a portion of the spacer materiallayer 304 to form spacers 306 on the sidewalls of the conductivestructures 302 and the spacer material layer 304 a. Finally, thephotoresist layer is removed.

As shown in FIG. 3C, an insulating layer 308 is formed over the wafer300. The insulating layer 308 is a dielectric layer such as a siliconoxide layer, a silicon nitride layer or a silicon oxynitride layerformed, for example, by performing a chemical vapor deposition process.

As shown in FIG. 3D, a defect contact opening 310 and a contact opening312 are formed in the insulating layer 308. The defect contact opening310 exposes the spacer material layer 304 a. The method of forming thedefect contact openings 310 and the contact opening 312 includes, forexample, performing a photolithographic and etching process to formopenings between the conductive structures 302.

Thereafter, conductive material is deposited into the defect contactopenings 310 and the contact opening 312 to form a defect contact 310and a contact 312 a. The conductive material can be a metal such astungsten, aluminum or copper or an alloy such as tungsten silicide. Thedefect contact 310 a and the contact 312 a are formed, for example, bydepositing a conductive material over the insulating layer 308 to fillthe defect contact opening 310 and the contact opening 312 and removingthe conductive material outside the defect contact opening 310 and thecontact opening 312.

Because the defect inspection devices of the present invention can befabricated in the same steps for forming other devices, considerableproduction cost is saved.

In another preferred embodiment, the defect inspection device has astructure shown in FIG. 4. The defect inspection device is located onthe scribe lines (510 in FIG. 5) of a wafer. The defect inspectiondevice comprises an insulating layer 402, a conductive layer 404, asecond insulating layer 406 and a defect contact 408. The insulatinglayer 402 is disposed over the substrate 400 (the scribe line of thewafer) and the conductive layer 404 is disposed over the insulatinglayer 402. The insulating layer 406 covers the conductive layer 404 andthe substrate 400. The defect contact 408 is disposed in the insulatinglayer 406 above the conductive layer 404. The defect contact 408 isfabricated from a conductive material.

The defect inspection device shown in FIG. 4 is formed in the sameprocessing steps for forming contacts for linking ordinary devices ortest keys on the scribe lines as shown in FIGS. 6A through 6C. As shownin FIGS. 5 and 6A, a wafer 500 is provided. The wafer has a plurality ofscribe lines 510 for defining a plurality of chips 520 formed thereon.Thereafter, an insulating layer 602 and a conductive layer 604 areformed over the scribe lines 510 a, 510 b and the chip regions 520 a ofthe wafer 500. The insulating layer 602 is a silicon oxide layer formedin a thermal oxidation process and the conductive layer 604 is apolysilicon layer formed in a chemical vapor deposition process, forexample.

As shown in FIG. 6B, the insulating layer 602 and the conductive layer604 are patterned to form a plurality of conductive stack structures 606on the chip regions 520 a and a plurality of defect stack structures 608on the scribe lines 510 a in a region 512 designated for forming thetest key. However, no defect stack structures are formed on other testkey positions 514 on the scribe lines 510 a and 510 b. The method offorming the conductive stack structure 606 and the defect stackstructure 608 includes performing a photolithographic and etchingprocess for the insulating layer 602 and the conductive layer 604, forexample. Thereafter, using the conductive stack structure 606 and thedefect stack structure 608 as a mask, an ion implantation is carried outto form a doped region 516 in the wafer 500.

As shown in FIG. 6C, an insulating layer 610 is formed over the wafer500 to cover the conductive stack structure 606, the defect stackstructure 608 and the wafer 500. The insulation layer 610 is a siliconoxide layer formed in a chemical vapor deposition process, for example.

Thereafter, a plurality of contact openings 612 and a plurality ofdefect contact openings 614 are formed in the insulating layer 610. Thecontact openings 612 are disposed on the chip regions of the wafer 500and other positions 514 designated to form the test keys. The defectcontact openings 614 are disposed on the designated locations 512 forforming the defect contacts. In other words, the defect contact openings614 are formed on the defect stack structure 608.

After that, conductive material is deposited into the openings to formcontacts 612 a in the chip region 520 a and test keys 613 and defectcontacts in the scribe line regions 510 a and 510 b. The conductivematerial is a metal such as copper, aluminum or tungsten. The contacts612 a, the test keys 613 and the defect contacts 614 a are formed, forexample, by depositing conductive material over the insulating layer 610to fill the contact openings 612 and the defect contact openings 614 andremoving any excess conductive material outside the openings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the second step 110 in the inspecting method is toset up a defect inspection parameter and scan the wafer with an electronbeam to obtain a plurality of scan signals. Through a defect inspectiondevice, the difference between the conductive devices and the defectinspection devices on the wafer is analyzed to detect the defectsignals. The inspection method includes using an electron beam to serveas a probing source. When the electron beam bombards the inspectiondevice, secondary electrons are emitted from the inspection device. Forexample, if an electron beam targets a conductive structure, secondaryelectrons indicating a close state are emitted. On the other hand, if anelectron beam targets a defect inspection device, second electronsindicating an open state are emitted. Thereafter, through animage-processing system, a bright spot is produced in the locationswhere the quantity of the secondary electrons emitted is high and a darkspot is produce in the locations where the quantity of secondaryelectrons emitted is low. According to the brightness contrast in theimage, the distribution of the conductive structures and the defectinspection device can be determined.

In the following, the defect structure shown in FIG. 3D is used as anexample. As shown in FIGS. 3D, 5 and 7, the wafer 500 has a plurality ofchips 520 and one of the chip regions 522 has at least a defectinspection device 702. The defect inspection device 702 is a defectcontact 310 a (as shown in FIG. 3D) and FIG. 7 shows a top view of it.In addition, conductive devices 704 are formed in correspondingpositions on other chip regions such as 524 and 526. The conductivedevices 704 are contacts 312 a (as shown in FIG. 3D) and FIG. 7 shows atop view of it. When an electron beam scans over the conductive device704, secondary electrons indicating a close state are produced. On thecontrary, when the electron beam scans over the defect inspection device702, secondary electrons indicating an open state are produced. Bycomparing the signals with the scan signals obtained from one havingconductive devices 704 and defect inspection device 702 in correspondinglocations, defects can be readily determined through any difference inimage contrast.

In addition, another type of inspection can be illustrated using thedefect inspection device as shown in FIG. 6C. As shown in FIGS. 5, 6Cand 8, the wafer 500 has a plurality of scribe lines 510 and at least adefect inspection device 802 is formed in one of the scribe line regions510 a. The defect inspection device 802 is a defect contact 614 a (asshown in FIG. 6C) and FIG. 8 is a top view of it. Furthermore,conductive devices 804 are formed in corresponding positions on otherscribe line regions such as 510 b and 510 c. The conductive devices 804are test keys 613 (as shown in FIG. 6C) and FIG. 8 is a top view it.When an electron beam scans over the conductive device 804, secondaryelectrons indicating a close state are produced. On the contrary, whenthe electron beam scans over the defect inspection device 802, secondaryelectrons indicating an open state are produced. By comparing thesignals with the scan signals obtained from one having conductivedevices 804 and defect inspection device 802 in corresponding locations,defects can be readily determined through any difference in imagecontrast.

As shown in FIG. 1, the third step 120 in the inspecting method is todetermine if the number of defect signals is at least equal to thenumber of defect inspection device. If the number of defect signals issmaller than the defect inspection devices, the defect inspectionparameter is readjusted and the actions indicated in steps 110 and 120are repeated until the number of defect signals and the number of defectinspection devices are equal. When the number of defect signals is atleast equal to the number of defect inspection device, the defectinspection parameter is a suitable parameter to use in the defectinspection device for carrying out the inspection because the inspectionwill not over or under response to defects. Hence, the defect inspectionparameter thus discovered can be directly used in subsequent waferinspection.

In summary, the inspection method of the present invention utilizes anelectron beam to scan the defect inspection devices on a wafer andobtains a suitable defect inspection parameter. This method can rapidlyfind the optimal defect inspection parameter so that the time needed toinspect a wafer for defects is shortened. Hence, overall productionyield is increased. Furthermore, the defect inspection device used forcarrying out the defect inspection can be fabricated in conventionalfabricating steps for forming other devices. Thus, considerable laborand processing steps are saved.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made to the structure of the presentinvention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention.In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present inventioncover modifications and variations of this invention provided they fallwithin the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.

1. A defect inspection device structure comprising: a substrate having a plurality of conductive structures thereon; a defect contact disposed between a pair of neighboring conductive structures; a spacer disposed between the defect contacts and various conductive structures; and an insulating layer disposed between the defect contacts and the substrate.
 2. The structure of claim 1, wherein the material constituting the defect contact comprises a conductive material.
 3. The structure of claim 1, wherein the spacer and the insulating layer are fabricated from an identical material.
 4. A defect inspection structure positioned on a scribe line of a wafer, the defect inspection device structure comprising: a first insulating layer disposed on the scribe line of the wafer; a conductive layer disposed on the first insulating layer; a second insulating layer disposed over the conductive layer and the substrate; and a defect contact disposed within the second insulating layer above the conductive layer.
 5. The defect inspection device structure of claim 4, wherein the material constituting the defect contact comprises a conductive material. 